Morning Headlines

US co-op joins CBH suitors

America’s biggest co-operative has reached out to Australia’s biggest co-operative in the latest twist in the battle to control the grain supply chain in WA. The West

Miners won’t take pedal off the metal

Rio Tinto appears set to beat its own iron ore production targets for 2017 in a sign that hopes the proposed joint venture between Fortescue and Vale could reduce the oversupply in the global market will be short-lived. The Fin

CIMIC eyes an exit from Asian market

The $10 billion listed construction giant CIMIC is believed to be contemplating an exit from Asia, with sources suggesting the Spanish-controlled group could be about to place the division on the market. The Aus

Coalition holds on to winning lead

The Turnbull government has a comfortable lead over Labor just months from the next election but the Prime Minister’s personal standing continues to tumble as his administration struggles with indecision and infighting. The Fin

FFA upbeat on broadcasters signing television rights deal

Football Federation Australia is confident that interest across free-to-air broadcasters and Fox Sports can help it sign a bumper television rights deal that will provide critical funding for the sport. The Fin

Bookie seeks end to betting ad blitz

Irish-owned gambling giant Sportsbet wants to see big cuts to the amount of gambling advertising and the formation of a federal gambling regulator to improve supervision and public perceptions of the industry. The Aus

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: The Turnbull government has a comfortable lead over Labor just months from the next election but the Prime Minister’s personal standing continues to tumble as his administration struggles with indecision and infighting.

The planets are aligned and the time is right for bold government action to create growth, says Australia’s elder statesman of business, Frank Lowy.

Page 2: The nation’s peak business lobby has urged the federal government to use the budget to lift the number of tourists coming to Australia, a move which it claims could generate 123,000 more jobs by 2020.

Page 9: REST Industry Super chief executive Damian Hill wants compulsory superannuation contributions raised to 15 per cent to force low-income earners, particularly women, to save more for retirement.

Page 12: The Australian Graduate School of Management’s online MBA has been named eighth in the world in the Financial Times global ranking of this type of degree.

Page 13: Rio Tinto appears set to beat its own iron ore production targets for 2017 in a sign that hopes the proposed joint venture between Fortescue and Vale could reduce the oversupply in the global market will be short-lived.

Page 16: National Australia Bank’s long-running technology upgrade is slashing the time it takes branch staff to approve loans and open new accounts, as banks’ shopfronts are forced to compete for the growing number of customers doing their banking digitally.

Commonwealth Bank has claimed a world first of payments, a cash register and stock management on one device by offering Aussie cloud-based cash register Kounta on its Albert mobile sales tablet.

Page 30: Television bosses have ramped up their case for the Turnbull government to slash the commercial industry’s $153 million annual licence fees, but talk of a looming cut has stoked allegations of favouritism from the pay-TV sector.

Page 31: Football Federation Australia is confident that interest across free-to-air broadcasters and Fox Sports can help it sign a bumper television rights deal that will provide critical funding for the sport.

The Australian

Page 2: Queensland Nickel’s 800 sacked workers and 700 trade creditors have been called to an emergency meeting in Townsville today as part of an 11th-hour attempt to keep Clive Palmer’s crippled Yabulu refinery afloat.

Actuaries are lending their voice to the growing chorus of support for including the value of the family home in the Age Pension asset test to help make the social security system fairer and more sustainable.

Page 3: Irish-owned gambling giant Sportsbet wants to see big cuts to the amount of gambling advertising and the formation of a federal gambling regulator to improve supervision and public perceptions of the industry.

Page 4: Scott Morrison will intensify his attack today on Labor’s negative gearing policy, releasing 28 questions he says Labor needs to answer, including whether house prices would fall 4 per cent.

Page 17: Virgin Australia chairman Elizabeth Bryan says the airline intends to scrutinise the structure of its balance sheet and examine whether it needs to be improved after coming through the bloody capacity war with Qantas.

BHP Billiton’s chief financial officer Peter Beaven has thrown his support behind proposals for a voluntary code for reporting of tax information.

Page 18: The $10 billion listed construction giant CIMIC is believed to be contemplating an exit from Asia, with sources suggesting the Spanish-controlled group could be about to place the division on the market.

Page 19: Australia’s biggest telco has urged the Turnbull government to scrap an “artificial” cap on claims for the research and development tax incentive, declaring “it is not difficult” for companies to shift work to countries with more generous tax breaks.

Cleaning and catering giant Spotless may have breached the privacy of a number of its employees when it handed their names to the Australian Workers’ Union along with tens of thousands of dollars in a “dodgy” deal uncovered by the Trade Union Royal Commission.

Page 25: Bruce Gordon’s WIN Corporation is preparing to kick off talks with metropolitan free-to-air broadcaster Ten Network Holdings about a potential television affiliate deal as soon as this week.

The West Australian

Page 3: Australia’s crash watchdog has launched an investigation into a “serious” incident involving an Indonesia AirAsia flight to Perth that flew 300m too low in terrifying turbulence.

Page 9: The family home would be included in the age pension assets test and stamp duty slashed for older Australians as part of a bold plan to give retirees money to live on and ease pressure on the Federal Budget.

Page 14: Malcolm Turnbull and his entire Cabinet will charge Perth business leaders thousands of dollars for access as the WA Liberal Party seeks to build its war chest for the Federal election.

Page 15: WA is stuck in the sport funding Dark Ages of sausage sizzles and chook raffles, says Australian swimming great Mark Stockwell.

Business: America’s biggest co-operative has reached out to Australia’s biggest co-operative in the latest twist in the battle to control the grain supply chain in WA.

A Perth-based company of a Belfast-born, Monaco-based former WA businessman has won the Australian development’s industry’s top residential project gong for a Queensland estate.